


Steven Broke Everybodys’ T.V

by JaKedeSnaKe



Series: Steven Broke It [2]
Category: Gravity Falls, Over the Garden Wall (Cartoon & Comics), Steven Universe (Cartoon), The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Comedy, Crossover, Dimension Travel, Gen, Meta, Multiple Crossovers, Southern/Appalachian Vernacular, Vernacular Writing, cursing, not a good deal of angst this time, so much cursing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:20:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24637450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaKedeSnaKe/pseuds/JaKedeSnaKe
Summary: Alright, so, I’m back in Steven’s dimension. And, uh, he brought some others with him.
Relationships: Amity Blight & Luz Noceda, Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe, Dipper Pines & Mabel Pines, Gregory & Wirt (Over the Garden Wall)
Series: Steven Broke It [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1781347
Comments: 28
Kudos: 50





	1. Movie Night?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I Get Transported to Steven’s Universe 2: Electric Boogaloo

“I’m so glad you could make it here, Connie!” 

“Of course! I wouldn’t miss hanging out with my Jam Bud for anything!”

Steven and Connie reclined on one of the two twin beds available in the motel room, anxiously preparing for their night of binge-watching. Connie had just warped in for the hang-out on Lion, who went off to roam the prairies of the good ol’ state of Cornhusker. With Steven lying against the headboard and Connie lying near the bed’s front, they eagerly began discussing possible show options.

“Ooh! Ooh! I love this show!” Connie exclaimed as she skimmed through her phone. “What about ‘Joseon?’ It’s this really cool Korean period drama set after the Imjin War, where corrupt bureaucrats brought the dead king back to life to maintain their power, only to unintentionally cause a zombie apocalypse!”

Steven scratched his chin, pondering Connie’s choice. “Hmm . . . nah, doesn’t sound like it’s for me.”

She chortled. “It has _zombies_ , Steven! A zombie apocalypse set before the modern era in a non-Western society!” she argued, throwing her hands up in emphasis. “Doesn’t that sound cool!?”

“It does, honestly,” Steven explained, “but the whole, y’know, ‘politics’ aspect kinda sounds like a turn-off for me. I mean, I’ve had enough of _that_ for one lifetime.” Hearing that Connie nodded in understanding.

“Okay,” she said as she resumed swiping through an ensemble of shows. “Oh! We could watch ‘The Earth 2’, _the phenomenal nature documentary narrated by Sir Daniel Ackenborough,_ ” Connie suggested, mimicking a posh British accent in her summary.

Steven chuckled. “ _Oh, that sounds most exquisite._ ” They both burst out into laughter before Steven’s mood suddenly dampened. “Aw, but don’t animals die in that?”

Connie immediately sobered, knowing very well her boyfriend’s feelings about nature. “Yeah . . . but, I mean, it’s a nature doc; animals die.” Steven only whimpered in sympathy for those poor, unfortunate animals.

“Oh, alright,” Connie relented upon seeing that display. Now with shame bubbling in his gut, Steven’s eyes flickered down to his phone. Connie looked so bummed when he said he didn’t want to watch that. He didn’t want to make her feel bad! She was his girlfriend! . . . Alright, even though he _really_ didn’t want to, maybe he could give in and -

Wait, wait! He reminded himself to not fall down that slope again. Steven thought back to his therapist, who reminded him to not “light yourself on fire to keep other people warm.” It was a good mantra, he had to admit.

Steven felt a welling of pride in his soul. Even after six months of therapy, he still couldn’t help but feel happy whenever he prevented himself from doing a negative habit.

“Could I try and look up a show?” Steven requested.

His girlfriend snickered. “Of course, silly! I’m not the only one calling the shots here!”

A smirk tugged at her lips. “But, don’t take all night this time.” She looked out the motel room window. “I think I can see the sun rising, actually.”

“Alright, alright, liar,” Steven reassured with a grin.

“What abooouuuut,” he drawled, scrolling through the recommended list on his phone. “I heard ‘The Twilight Preaching’ is really good. It’s about this guy who travels through dimensions and interviews all sorts of people about, like, spirituality and stuff. But it’s also like, an animated podcast, I think.”

Connie hummed. “Yeah, that could be pretty cool!”

With both in the same boat about wishing to see the animated show, Steven opened up Webflix and the two began watching. As dusk grew into midnight, and Nancy continued his travels through various dimensions across the multiverse, Steven couldn’t help but be reminded of something.

“Y’know, it still is pretty cool to think that somewhere, the both of us are in a cartoon,” he told Connie. Of course he _had_ to tell his best friend about the outer-dimensional visitor that came out of his T.V and told them how they existed in his timeline!

She took that comment as a hint that he wanted to keep on talking, so he paused Nancy’s latest interview in a medieval world. “Yeah, that is really fascinating.”

“But, that’s not even the strangest part,” Steven followed. “It’s like, he told us that we’re a cartoon in another dimension, and we just mostly didn’t care? _Mostly_ , obviously,” he made sure to clarify after seeing Connie’s raised eyebrow. 

“Definitely,” Connie agreed. “It’s like, _hey, alright, that’s cool, but I’ll go and keep living my life the way I’ve always been?_ It’s interesting how having knowledge of that just, doesn’t really affect you once the initial shock wears off.”

“I know, right? It also helps having Garnet and Pearl explain the multiverse hypothesis to you in-depth,” Steven added.

“Which I guess isn’t even a hypothesis anymore, but just fact,” Connie stated. She chuckled. “I should publish that in a scientific journal.”

“Oh, yeah, the ‘I Discovered that the Multiverse is Real Because Someone Came Through my T.V’ issue, people will _definitely_ take that seriously,” Steven kidded, earning a playful elbow from Connie.

She almost unpressed the “pause” button when Steven sighed in remembrance. “It _was_ pretty cool having someone that, just, _knew_ you around, y’know? I mean, you knew me, I knew me, but having someone else was pretty cool.”

Connie shrugged. “I guess so. But, doesn’t that freak you out though? Someone knows practically everything there is to you, and you two have never even talked before?”

“. . . Yeah, at first it did come as a shock, but Martin proved to be nice about the whole thing. Like, he didn’t go and tell the Gems about anything I was keeping hidden from them or try and fix me or anything.”

“‘ _Fix_ ’ you?”

“Yeah, ‘cause I was in a rough place and Martin knew probably knew all about it from the show! I mean, I don’t know how _much_ he saw, but looking back in retrospect I think he still knew. Like, Martin could’ve gone ‘yeah, me and the Stevenites have a foolproof plan to help you deal with your trauma,’ but he just let me be. He had all the knowledge to do so, but he still respected my boundaries.”

Connie nodded, mulling the thought over, before ultimately snickering. “‘ _Stevenites?_ ’”

He shrugged. “Maybe that’s what our fans are called in Martin’s universe? Our show’s called ‘Steven Universe!’” They both guffawed at how stupid that clique name sounded.

Steven turned his attention back to the phone. “It wouldn’t hurt to have more friends like that. Or just, at least having more people like me around.”

Instead of tapping against the glass to unpause, his finger slid through it like plasma.

“ _Wh-What?!_ ” the two yelped, backing up. Almost instantly, Steven knew what was happening.

“. . . Uh, oh.”

* * *

Hrrrnnghgh, mother _fucker_ dude, what was that?! I was _literally_ just bouta crank one out - hell, I was nearabout ready to pull m’pants down - when all of a sudden my Ipad starts glowin’ like crazy! Yeesh, haven’t experienced that since . . . since . . . . 

Wait a p minute. _Waaaaiiiit_ a damn minute. I can barely open my eyes. And I hear my name being called in a teenage voice. And everything looks way too colorful. Am I . . . oh no, I can’t be - 

“ _. . . -tin? Martin?_ Martin!”

“ _Gaah!_ “ I yelp, boltin’ upright on a bed. Lookin’ in front of me, I see Steven Universe himself with his hands on my shoulders, tryna wake me up.

“Oh thank gosh,” Steven sighs in relief, lettin’ go of me. Then he smiles. “It - it’s really you! I can’t believe you’re here!”

Well, I’ll be! Alright, not gonna lie, this is _way_ better than chokin’ the chicken. I instantly light up. “Yoooo! Steven! Holy crap! How’s it goin’, my guy?”

“It’s going great!” he responds. “I brought you back!” Suddenly his face falters. “ _I, brought you, back._ Oh man, I’m so sorry!”

Oh damn. “Hey now, s’okay! This ain’t your fault!”

“No, it is! I, I even said out-loud that I wished I knew more people like you, and that made you come here!” He runs his fingers through his curls. “Man, why am I always _doing_ this?”

Finally, Connie pipes up. “Steven, you _know_ you didn’t mean to do this. You were just, wishful thinking, that’s all.”

“Yeah! Uh, what she said!” I add like a dumbass.

She clasps her hands around one of Steven’s clenched fists. “Don’t blame yourself too hard. This isn’t your fault.”

He takes in a shaky breath before slowly releasin’ it. “. . . You’re right. Thanks, Connie,” he says with an appreciative grin. 

She grins also, then gives him a real quick peck on the cheek. They both blush at that. Turnin’ from him, Connie takes a look at me ‘n begins studyin’ me as if I was some sorta map. “You didn’t tell me he was from down South,” she points out. Oh boy.

Suddenly, her face lights up. “That’s so cool! I’ve never really had a chance to actually _talk_ with a Southerner before, let alone from another dimension! This could be really good for my Sociology minor!”

. . . Huh. Well, shit. That ain’t somethin’ I heard before. Heck, that nearabout rendered me speechless.

“Oh yeah, that’s, that’s good, good for you,” I spit out.

“Hold on - could you say ‘pin’ and ‘pen’ for me?”

“Uh . . . ‘pin’ and, ‘pen.’” Man, do I feel like a science exhibit. Hey, not gonna lie, it’s kinda nice. S’not like it’s every day where the Appalachian dialect fascinates people ‘stead of makin’ them think of me as white trash. 

Connie’s eyes glanced down to her hand currently rubbing her chin. “Hmm - a twangy accent, evident monophthongization, there’s a pin/pen merger, hard rhotic use - are you from the Inland South?”

Damn - she nailed that right on the head! “Y-Yeah! Holy sh - you’re good!”

She giggles. “I’m just glad to see that my Sociology studying is paying off!”

“I know, right? Connie’s a whiz at that sorta stuff,” Steven lauded, rubbing arms with her. “‘Course, you probably knew that already.”

Oh, right. Here it’s like I’m God or something - like all-knowing ‘n shit, which still feels freaky. “Yeah, uh, I hope your political science prep’s treatin’ ya well also.”

Connie gasps. “He really _does_ know a lot! What else do you know?”

“Oh, uh, y’know - bit’s ‘n pieces ‘bout people. And, uh, the plot, I guess?”

“That’s insane!” she cheers. Quickly her face falters into more of a sheepish grin. “If Steven’s the central protagonist - that doesn’t make me just the, supporting character, am I?”

“No! No, no, no! . . . Well, I mean, in the _show_ , yeah, but -“

“Connie,” Steven speaks up, savin’ my sorry ass from ruinin’ it further. “I told you before how our lives don’t revolve around the show. Like, what Martin sees are only just snapshots of our lives. Remember the Infinite Ape Theorem, and how it only proves we’re flesh-and-blood people with genuine lives.”

After a moment, she snickers. “It’s the ‘Infinite Monkey Theorem,’ Steven,” she playfully corrects. Her face becomes one adorned with steely resolution. “Right. Thanks, Steven. Sorry, thought I was about to spiral into some existential crisis!”

Steven laughs. “Don’t be sorry! But yeah, I get it - those aren’t fun!”

They both lost it at that, with how ridiculous it is that he said that and meant it. I only chuckle a bit, ‘cause this whole scenario is still completely wacky to me. It also just hit me that I’m 2D again. Yay. I mean, for a normally 3D dude like me, being 2D is like, it’s like you feel only half of you, if that makes any sorta sense. I already told y’all all that schlock, I ain’t bouta repeat it.

. . . Not gonna lie guys, I miss my fingerprints already.

Wipin’ his eyes, Steven turns to me. “Alright, well, I don’t wanna keep you here against your will or anything. Now that I know how to bring you back to your dimension, after all.”

“ _Steven,_ “ Connie reprimands. “We have an extra-dimensional visitor _in our motel room_ , and you want him to _leave_?!”

“Yeah!” I add. “I mean, I’m good here, man! I was - I wasn’t doin’ nothin’ important!” 2D shock aside, I ain’t fixin’ to leave just yet. I mean, shit, what a downgrade it would be goin’ from literally talkin’ to your childhood idols to watchin’ some big tiddy goth girls.

Steven glances aside, mouth furling before gradually turning into a smile. “Weeeeellll, I guess he _could_ stay for a bit and watch T.V with us.” 

“ _Yes!!!_ ” Connie’s nerd side exclaims. “I still have _so many questions_ to ask!”

“Don’t bug him _too_ much, Connie!” Steven disciplines innocuously.

“Bro, honestly, that’s fine - I coulda gone on for _hours_ tellin’ your family all ‘bout things that’re different between our dimensions when we first met!” I state, relishing in how cathartic that experience felt.

Steven smiles before picking up the phone. Suddenly he frowns. “Huh.”

“What’s the matter, Steven?” Connie asks, bending over to get a glimpse at the phone. That don’t sound good. But, Steven ‘n Connie are already crammin’ themselves around the phone and I don’t wanna crowd ‘em, so I’ma just sit back. 

Steven’s eyes remain glued to the screen. “I - the portal is usually gone by now.”

. . . Huh? 

Suddenly Connie’s pupils shrink into lil’ pinpricks. “Steven? Didn’t you say something about wanting to have _other_ people like you around as well?”

He - _oh shit!_ Mans didn’t even get a _chance_ to respond, as a hat literally shot out of the phone screen at practically supersonic speeds and hit him right smack-dab in the face. While he‘s holdin’ his face and Connie’s checkin’ if he‘s good, I reach over and pick up the hat.

It’s a blue-‘n-white hat, decorated with a little pine tree symbol.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back with writin’ in the Appalachian vernacular, babey! Man, am I excited!
> 
> Referring back to what Martin said about how people usually percieve his accent, that there’s a genuine issue people from Appalachia have to deal with. I found this really cool article about how a woman re-perceived her Appalachian dialect after she forced herself to abandon it once she moved up to Boston:
> 
> https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/sep/06/appalachia-accent-speech-language-education


	2. The Gang’s All Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Super Smash Bros text: Everyone is here!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started this here fic a couple months back, back when Amity was a lot more standoffish to Luz, so I originally wrote her as such. But after seeing Enchanting Grom Fright and Wing It Like Witches . . . yeah I just _gotta_ change up the story a bit to fit in Amity’s crush. It’s adorable as all hell and it’s a comedic gold mine.
> 
> Also, to avoid confusion on when in their respective stories’ the characters have come from, Steven summoned:
> 
> Dipper ‘n Mabel, post-Roadside Attraction and pre-Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future
> 
> Wirt ‘n Greg, post-The Ringing of the Bell and pre-Babes in the Wood
> 
> Luz ‘n Amity, post-Enchanting Grom Fright and pre-Wing It Like Witches

Oh, there ain’t _no_ way in h-

_**~Zip!~** _

A searin’ flash of white light erupts from Steven’s phone, the shock of it knockin’ me clean off the bed . . . . ‘Kay, great, the light’s dyin’ down now. Now I can open my eyes to see if Steven actually managed to summon -

 _Holy Lord Jesus_ he actually did. 

Fuckin’. Dipper. And. Mabel. Pines.

Holy hell. I just stare, my jaw gapin’ wide. ‘Cause the bed already has so many people on it, the Pines ain’t got no free spot to land on from bein’ summoned and instead just land on top of Steven ‘n Connie, all unconscious. Now the teens carefully pry them off of themselves ‘n stand up.

Them two are as wide-eyed as me. “ _Oh gosh_ ,” Steven breathes.

Connie shares the sentiment. “I - did you know you could summon more than one person?”

“No, no! I, I didn’t know I could do this at _all!_ ” Steven exclaims, right fearful. 

She takes a gander at the two unconscious twins. “How do you think they’re related to you?”

Reckon it’s ‘cause they’re cartoons as well? Nah, that don’t make sense. Usin’ that logic Steven coulda summoned anybody ‘cause, multiverse logic, everybody can be a cartoon in some timeline. So that rules that idea out.

Maybe it’s - oh shit, Dipper’s wakin’ up. He slowly sits up, bringin’ a hand to his forehead.

“Ooohhh, wh-what happened? Was that a _finger_ poking through the T.V?” Eyes half-lidded, he blinks a couple times. Then they nearabout bulge outta his head once he realizes what his surroundings are. “Wh-What the -!” 

He gawks straight ahead at Steven, who offers a sheepish grin. “Hiiii . . .”

“ _WAAAAUUGH!_ ” Dipper shrieks, frantically shufflin’ back into the headboard. His eyes dart to a still-unconscious Mabel. “Mabel! Mabel! Wake up!” he begs, shakin’ her shoulders.

She’s slowly startin’ to come to her senses. “Uugh, what was _that?_ Did Grunkle Ford try powering the T.V with solar power again?”

“No Mabel, something’s wrong!”

Mabel pushes Dipper’s grasp off of her and sits up, her eyes groggy as she smacked her chops. She started observin’ her surroundin’s, confusion echoing on her face. Suddenly her face lights up in overjoyed realization. “*Gasp!* Are we getting _Kerprank’d!?!_ Awesome!”

“Mabel, no!” Dipper chided.

“Nah, this is _definitely_ what’s happening!” Mabel confidently voices in spite of Dipper’s words. She bends over to point at the underside of the motel bed. “He’s gonna be coming out from under this bed _riiiiiiiiigggggghhhhhht. . . ._ ”

After a moment of complete silence, save for the near tangible anxiety comin’ from Steven ‘n Connie, Mabel chuckles a lil’ fearfully with a falterin’ smile. “Haha, _any_ day now, Justin.”

“Mabel, listen to me!” Dipper pleads, gettin’ Mabel’s attention again. God, I can’t believe I’m hearin’ their voices in the flesh. “Something _really_ weird is happening. I - I think we got sucked into some sort of portal.” 

Huh, Dipper figured that out real quick. Reckon he would, with all his dimensional know-how ‘n all.

Mabel snickers. “A _portal_ in our T.V?” Then she pauses for a moment. “Well, actually, that doesn’t sound _too_ far off, considering how Gravity Falls is.”

She glances between Steven and Connie. “Well, let’s just ask these guys! Hi! I’m Mabel, and this is my twin brother Dipper!” she introduces, pullin’ Dipper in for a side hug.

“Um, hi?” Connie responds with an uneasy wave of her hand, as Steven goes over to stand beside her. “I’m Connie.”

“I’m - uh - I’m Steven.”

“Uh huh, uh huh,” Dipper curtly replies as he retrieves his iconic hat (so I reckon that Steven siphoned them from some time before the series ended?), “So do you guys mind telling us _why_ Mabel and I are here? What, are we the key to solving some sort of apocalypse here? Are we deities or somethin’?”

“Relax, bro-bro, they probably didn’t _mean_ for this to happen,” Mabel argues. “I mean, why summon us in some grungy old motel?” she clarifies, gesturin’ ‘round the room.

“Yeah, you guys probably have a lotta questions,” Steven says. “So, uh, what happened is -“

***Flump!***

What the -! Some, some sorta red cone just shot clean outta Steven’s phone and smacked Dipper right upside the noggin. Wait. That, that can’t mean _oh Lord Jesus the phone’s a-glowin’._

_**~Zip!~** _

Welp. Great. Can’t see shit again. So help me God, if there’s _another_ cartoon character there I’ma nearabout -

Oh, yep. It’s Wirt ‘n Greg, lyin’ unconscious. I, I might could pass out right here, right now. I mean, shit, we got the whole Steven Falls Over gang sittin’ together in this very room. If that ain’t completely bum-ass wild, then I dunno _what_ is.

“ _AH!_ ” Mabel and Dipper both shriek under the combined weight of the brothers. With Steven ‘n Connie’s help, they get rescued from the pile. They stand alongside the two, gaspin’ for air a bit.

“Wait - who are _they?!_ ” Mabel questions, dumbfounded. 

“Is the portal not, like, turning off or somethin’?” Dipper anxiously asks Steven.

He stutters. “I - I dunno! This is the second time I’ve done this, and the first time I’ve summoned more than one person!”

“‘ _First time?!_ ’” Dipper cries in shock.

“Mmm . . . .” Oh boy, Greg’s wakin’ up. “What the beans? What was all that flashing?”

From lyin’ down on the bed, he notices us all lookin’ at him with baited breath. He looks, oddly calm, however.

“Huh. Must be havin’ a weird dream. Ain’t that just the way,” he says while shakin’ his head. “Though, why would I fall asleep just as me and Wirt and - GREG JUNIOR!” he cries. “Where’d he go? Oh, geez!”

He starts slappin’ Wirt. “Dream Wirt! You gotta help me wake up! C’mon, you big lug!”

“Ugh . . . _ack_ \- Greg, stop slapping me!” Wirt chides, tryna push his half-brother’s hands off of him. When that don’t work, he jus’ shoves Greg off the bed opposite of us.

“What the heck, Greg?” Wirt chastises groggily, pushing himself up with a groan. “You can’t just . . . randomly. . . hit . . . someone . . . .” His voice dies off once he spots all of us from ‘cross the bed.

“Wh-What the?!” His eyes shoot ‘round the room. “Wait - hold on - how did -“

Connie nervously chuckles. “Erm, hello?”

Steven looked like he was ‘bouta say somethin’ too, when all of a sudden Wirt lets out a single relieved laugh. “We - we’re back! Greg!” He leaps off the bed to face him. “We’re out of the Unknown! * _Ha!_ * Suck it, Beatrice!”

“What is going _on?_ ” Dipper asks to no one in particular, sliding the Journal out from inside his vest and pryin’ it open.

“Their noses look weird,” Mabel comments ‘bout the brothers out the side of her mouth. “Like little triangles.”

“Dream Wirt, help me wake up!” Greg pleads, shakin’ him somethin’ fierce. “I need to get back to you and Gregory Junior!”

He let’s go. Ope - he’s toddlin’ over to us, pointin’. “Here! Get these dream people to help out!”

“Huh?” Connie speaks.

“Greg, this isn’t a dream!” Wirt responds joyfully, voice lathered with elation. “We’re back home!” He looks over at us ‘n grabs his gnome hat before he runs to meet us. “Look, I dunno who you guys are, but _thank you._ So much.”

“A-Are you okay?” Steven asks, now worried ‘bout this stranger’s wellbein’. “Are you hurt? I can, uh . . . heal you, if you want.”

“No! I’m, I’m feeling _great!_ Wow - good thing Greg wanted to stop and rest beside that hollowed-out tree, heh!”

Speakin’ of which, Greg pulls himself up back onto the bed, worry evident in his face. “Maybe this weird black rectangle thingy can help us find Little Gregory!” he guesses, shakin’ ‘n rattlin’ Steven’s cellphone.

Steven’s eyes widen as Connie gasps. “No, wait, don’t touch that!” His arm shoots out to Greg - 

***Fling!***

Oh, shit! Jus’ before he could reach it, some type-a lil’ stick thing flew out ‘n jus’ barely missed Greg, instead piercing into the ceilin’. 

“* _Phew._ * That was close!” the boy states, all relieved, before the stick falls outta the ceilin’ ‘n slaps against Greg’s noggin. “Ouch.”

Everyone ‘sides Greg eyes the phone. “What . . . _is_ that?” Wirt wonders.

A murmur of discomfort escapes from Mabel. “It’s happening _again_?”

Steven looks mighty fearful. “Oh jeez, what are we gonna -“

_**~Zip!~** _

I swear I’ma go blind from all this bright white shit happenin’. Peekin’ my eyes open, I manage to see Greg’s stubby lil’ legs kickin’ from beneath two teen girls.

Wait a damn minute - that’s Luz ‘n Amity! 

“ _Aaaaahhhhh . . . ._ ” Steven lets out a whine that gradually rises in pitch. “There’s more!”

Connie flies to the phone lyin’ underneath Amity’s foot as Wirt yanks Greg out from beneath the two. She looks at it, goin’ poker-faced in obvious realization, then slaps her forehead as she frowns while simply turnin’ off the phone. “We could’ve done _that_ earlier,” she frustratingly admits.

Luz groans, bringin’ a hand to her forehead. “Uuuhhh . . . what magical thing was _that?_ ” Pullin’ herself up slowly, she blushes once she notices Amity’s head restin’ on her lap. That swiftly goes away once she realizes her peculiar surroundin’s. “Wait a minute -“

Her blush roars back in full force as she sees all of us starin’ at her. “¡Ay Dios Mio! Uh, h-hi!” she greets, mortified, abruptly pushin’ Amity’s head off of her legs, wincing once she hears her groan. “How’s it, um, how’s it going?”

Wirt’s jaw gapes. “Uuuuuhhhh . . . .”

“This really doesn’t _feel_ like a dream,” Greg casually observes, reachin’ behind him to rub his back. “Those two felt really real pressing against my spine. * _Sigh._ * Well, wherever he is, I just hope Gregory Junior is safe.”

“Hey, uh, do you guys know where we are?” Luz asks, laughin’ off her embarrassment. “I think we stumbled across some sort of magical gateway.”

Before she could continue, we all hear Amity suck in air between her teeth. “Oooh, what the - huh?” she whines, pushin’ herself up. Her eyes lock on to us. “What the -“

“Hey, Amity!” Luz jumped in front of her view, the witch backin’ up with a face flushed in embarassment at Luz bein’ so close to her. “So, uh, do you know if any of your books in your collection happen to have a oh, I dunno, secret mystical portal in them?”

“Wha - _no!_ Wh-What happened?!” Amity exclaims, confused fear replacin’ her previous embarrassment. “Where _are_ we?”

“We were just reading inside your little nook in the library,” Luz ruminates. Suddenly her eyes light up. “* _Gaaaasssssp!_ * Do you think we’re inside the _book!?!_ ”

Amity whirls her head back towards Luz as she seizes her wand off of the bed. “I don’t - do these people _look_ like they’re from _The Good Witch Azura?!_ ”

Luz shrugs. “I dunno, maybe they’re background characters.” Ouch.

“No, no, no, they-they look like regular humans, like you.” She pauses. “Well, except for those two,” she states, pointin’ a finger towards Wirt ‘n Greg.

“I’m not human! I’m an elephant!” Greg tells, startin’ to make elephant noises.

As Greg keeps makin’ them sounds, Steven finally seizes the moment to speak up. “Can everyone _please_ just pipe down!?” Everyone ‘n me pay him attention - ‘cept for Greg, who’s walkin’ in a circle while still makin’ elephant sounds. A hand slappin’ over his mouth courtesy of Wirt finally gets him to shut up.

Steven exhales. “Okay. I know everyone has a lotta questions right now. And I’ll answer them, but only if everyone will allow me to. Are we clear?”

We all nod, with Luz ‘n Amity’s ‘n Mabel’s nods bein’ much more of the excited variety (which, in Amity’s case, was brought on by desperately wantin’ an answer to where the Hell she ‘n Luz ended up), much more than Wirt ‘n Dipper’s colder nods. The only one who didn’t nod was Greg.

“Why should we listen to you?” he challenges. “Who died and made you the queen?”

“It would be ‘king’, Greg,” Wirt corrects. “And please stop talking.”

Steven sighed. “Because, uh, I kinda brought you all here using my powers.”

“‘ _Powers?_ ’” everyone repeats. 

Steven glances over to Connie, who nods in affirmation. “You guys might want to sit down for this.”


	3. Therapeutic Vibes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Y’all remember that scene in Wreck-It Ralph in the beginnin’ where all the villians have a group therapy sesh? Yeah, it’s kinda like that.

We all sit down on the dank carpeted floor of the motel in a circle, everybody feelin’ real uneasy with the whole situation.

Steven, noticin’ the others’ anxiously expectant gazes, clears his throat. “So, uh, yeah. My name’s Steven and, uh . . . you guys already know that, so, uh . . . .” 

Yeesh, this mans can talk down dictators but still can’t talk good with other teens to save his ass. 

“Are you gonna get to the point or what?” Dipper demands sardonically.

“Dipper! Don’t be so _rude!_ ” Mabel chastises. “He probably just has a little case of social anxiety. I can fix that right up!”

“No, Mabel -“

“Let’s all just formally introduce ourselves! Hiya! I’m Mabel, what’s your name!” she jovially introduces, leanin’ in towards Amity’s direction to her left.

The teen shimmies back towards Luz on her right. “Are … _all_ humans like this?” she questions to Luz, leanin’ away from Mabel. “I thought it was just you. Not that I’m complaining!”

Connie hums, ruminatin’ on Mabel’s suggestion. “That . . . doesn’t sound like a bad idea, actually,” she ponders.

“Yeah. Yeah, that’ll warm us up to each other!” Steven agrees, now a bit more upbeat. 

We make the rounds, mostly just sayin’ our names. Except Luz eagerly added that she was a “witch-in-training” (to the discomfort of Wirt ‘n Greg, but mostly Wirt), and Mabel almost pulled out her scrapbook ‘til Dipper somehow managed to convince her not to. Hell, I almost add after my name that I’m a “big fan” to all of ‘em but I quickly shut myself up.

“Now that we’ve all introduced ourselves,” Steven announces once we’re all done, “it’s a better time than ever to explain why you all are here.”

Takin’ a right good breath, he lifts up his shirt to display his gem. The sight instantly captivates everybody’s attention - even Amity’s kinda fearful attitude.

Mabel gasps. “YOU BEZAZZLE TOO?!! And _some_ people think I’m the only one who takes it seriously,” she states all snootily, indirectly callin’ Dipper out.

“I never said that,” he replies, voice monotone in a “Mabel fuck off” kinda way.

Steven chuckles. “I don’t know what that is, but no. I’m half gem, from my mom’s side, and I inherited this gem from her.” _Among a buncha other shit too,_ I think.

“Wait - you’re _not_ human?” Amity interrogates.

A flash of sumn’ akin to panic flickers through Steven’s eyes before it retreats ‘n Steven responds. “Well, I’m _half_ -human. The other half is my gem, which is where I get all my powers from.”

He chuckles a bit sheepishly. “ _One_ of them happens to allow me to, uh . . . bring in people from across the multiverse into my dimension.”

Dipper’s jaw nearabout drops to the floor. “Wait - you’re a dimensional traveler!?”

“Heh, no. More like, I can open portals that draw in outer-dimensional people.”

“That’s some _powerful_ magic right there,” Luz admits, right impressed. Even Amity nods.

“I mean, I _guess_ so? It’s, it’s kinda like magic,” Steven states.

“Wait, wait,” Wirt begins, soundin’ real dejected. “You mean, Greg and I aren’t home? We just got dragged to some, some other dimension?”

Steven shakes his head solemnly. “Yeah, sorry.” Wirt’s frown deepens.

“Where’d you come from, anyway?” Connie politely asks.

Wirt looks down, a scowl echoin’ across his face. “I - I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Some sorta understandin’ seems to light up on Steven’s face as he reaches out to console him. “Hey, I get it. I’ve, uh, been through some bad experiences in my life as well. If you want to talk about it before you go, I’m all ears.”

Instead, Wirt flinches back from Steven’s hand. “I - I’m _fine_ , thanks,” he spits. Steven knew that response all too well, but nonetheless his lips draw in a tight line and he don’t push further none.

“Sooo,” Dipper starts after an uneasy pause. “Why did you choose _us_ to teleport in, or whatever?”

He hums. “To be honest, I dunno. And I didn’t even _mean_ to activate any portals. I was just absentmindedly wishing that I had, like, more people like me around, and I accidentally opened up a portal.”

“How _are_ we like you?” Greg finally speaks up, who was more or less drummin’ his hands on the ground for the past while to kill time.

“We’re not too sure,” Connie answers after Steven looks over to her with a shrug. 

Suddenly Amity sighs, soundin’ panicky. “So … do you know _how_ to manifest a portal? Can you send us back?”

He nods. “I mean, yeah, I -“ 

“Doesn’t that take a lot out of you, though?” Connie asks her boyfriend with concern. 

Steven nods his head kinda surely. “No no, it’s fine, I can do it.” He holds his hand out to Connie, who reluctantly gives him his phone. “Again - sorry about this.”

“Wait, wait, wait - don’t send us back just yet!” Dipper exclaims. “I mean, this stuff revolutionary!” he says, the pen in his hand flyin’ through the Journal. “ _Another_ way to travel to dimensions? That’s amazing! Grunkle Ford is _definitely_ gonna wanna hear about this!”

“And maybe we could learn some of that amazing magic from you, oh powerful wizard!” Luz adds enthusiastically, referrin’ to her ‘n Amity. 

Steven can’t help but smile at them and their enthusiasm. “Aw, thanks guys.” 

She turns to Amity, her boundless enthusiasm even more so. “Doesn’t this sound exciting? You and me, learning magic? Together!”

Amity puts on a loopy smile. “Haha, yeah . . . .” That soon turns into a frown as she looks away. “But, doesn’t this seem _really_ freaky?”

Mabel, havin’ been listenin’, pshaws. “Trust me, sister - you don’t _know_ freaky!”

Amity scoffs, turnin’ her attention to her. “Luz and I fought the evil physical manifestation of a childrens’ book character.” 

“Hey, I did that with a fast food mascot!” Steven perks up. “Oh, right, ‘don’t downplay your past trauma,’” he chided himself, apparently referencin’ somethin’ his therapist done told him.

“Ha! That’s cool!” Mabel comments jovially before speakin’ to Amity once more. “And, yeah, it’s not like it’s every day where you get a chance to see a world that isn’t your own.”

Luz chortles. “Haha - _nope!_ ”

Wirt scoffs. “Yeah, I _wish_ that was the case.”

“Aw, don’t be such a sourpuss, Wirt,” Greg admonishes. “We wouldn’t have met Greg Jr if we hadn’t fallen into that lake!”

“You guys fell in a lake?” Connie asks, real concerned.

“Greg, shut up!” Wirt barks at his brother’s openness. He sighs, exasperated. “I . . . I gotta use the bathroom,” he says as he stands up, tone still bitter but now with a more tired edge on it.

Steven purses his lips as Wirt walks down the hall and enters the bathroom. “I should probably go talk to him.”

“Steven,” Connie begins, tone a tad bit firm. “You know you shouldn’t feel obligated to solve everybody’s issues.”

“I‘m not gonna do that, Connie,” he replies, all casual-like. “I just think that he needs someone to just talk to, that’s all.” And with that he gets up ‘n trails after Wirt.

Amity hums. “This is still really weird,” she murmurs, crossin’ her arms.

“Aw come _on,_ Amity, this isn’t too bad!,” Luz says. “This is pretty easy-going, considering what adventures we normally go on. We’re not even being chased by any monsters!”

“Wait, _what?_ ” Connie inquires.

Mabel gasps, eyes goin’ starry. “YOU’VE MET MONSTERS _TOO!??_ That’s awesome!”

Luz playfully dismisses Mabel with a wave of her hand, somehow mimickin’ exactly how my grandma would in the process. “Well, only a couple times. The really _monster-y_ ones were those abominations, the Slitherbeast, the Puppeteer, Grom, Evil Otabin, the Greater Basilisk, and Edaaaaaa - detención, haha!” 

“Did you say ‘Eda?’” Amity requests, confused.

“No, no, no, I said ‘Y detención!’ It-it’s Spanish for ‘and detention.’ Y’know, because of the detention mouth chasm … thingy.”

“But, you already said ‘and,’” Dipper draws attention to. “So, you’re saying ‘and and detention?’”

Luz nods her head sumn’ fierce. “M-hm! Yep, that’s how Spanish works!”

“That makes sense,” Mabel nods.

Amity looks like she wants to continue, but she stops as she suddenly snickers. “Did you say, ‘Evil Otabin?’”

“Well, yeah! Y’know, ‘cause ‘Monster Otabin’ or ‘I’m Gonna Chase You Through the Library Otabin’ doesn’t quite have that same ring to it.” Hearin’ that, Amity breaks out into a gigglin’ fit, only to immediately blush ‘n shut up afterwards.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Connie interrupts, wavin’ her hands good. “You guys encountered _monsters?!_ ” Everybody ‘sides me nods their heads, which gets Dipper all interested.

“Hold on a minute - we’ve just about _all_ met the supernatural before?” He hums quizzically. “You guys find that kinda, _weird_? How we all share such an unlikely thing like that?”

“Yeah, I thought the human world didn’t have monsters in it,” Amity ponders. “Right?” 

Connie ain’t dealin’ with any‘a Amity’s questionin’. “The monsters - did they have gemstones on them?” she worriedly questions.

Mabel hums. “Mmmmmmm - nope! Unless you’re counting the ones I’ve bezazzled,” she remarks offhand.

“Since when have you - nevermind,” Dipper shuts himself up before turnin’ to Connie. “Why would they have gems?” he asks.

Connie looks as if she was tryna understand gibberish. “But - no, there _has_ to be a gem, they all have one!” 

I reckon I should explain the situation a bit to her now. “Connie - they’re all from different dimensions. Gemkind prolly don’t exist in every dimension, so the monster’s they’re talkin’ about ain’t gonna be gems.”

She taps her pointer finger against the hard motel floor, deliberatin’ my words. “Huh. Yeah, I guess that makes sense,” she finalizes. “Wow.” Still, she ain’t lookin’ content as her eyes worriedly dart among the others. “Are you guys, okay?”

“Yeah! We’re still _alive,_ I’m pretty sure,” Greg chimes in, answerin’ it as if that question was the most redundant to have ever existed.

“We had closes call or two, but we still came out fine,” Mabel adds. 

Connie frowns, the others not gettin’ what she’s sayin’. “But, like, are you _mentally_ okay.”

A sort of malaise settles over the room. And when I mean “over the room” I mean primarily directed at the Pines twins.

Lookin’ like somebody done put a tear in some sorta grumpy inflatable tube man, Dipper deflates while grimacin’. Mabel also looks slightly uncomfortable as she reaches over to rub Dipper’s shoulder. “We’ve both been through some, scary stuff. But,” she shrugged it off, “we’re fine.”

Connie’s heard that word all too frequently. “I know this isn’t really my place, but if what you’ve been through is _that_ bad, I might consider therapy.”

“‘Therapy?’” Amity repeated, as if Connie suddenly was speakin’ Greek.

She blinks, turnin’ her head towards the witch. “Y’know - what you go to in order to address any sort of trauma and learn coping mechanisms for them?”

“Oh, that?” Amity recognizes. “We just use healing magic for that. Wow, humans really have to do a _lot_ on their own.”

“… Where _did_ you - nevermind,” Connie rescinds her thought. Gettin’ back on track she addresses the group. “This could go for any of you guys: if the memories of whatever happened are really painful, try and get therapy.”

The Pines twins grin. “Thanks, Connie,” Mabel replies with gratitude, Dipper noddin’ his head in consensus. Greg hums in acknowledgement. 

A corner of Luz’s mouth tilts down. “I mean, it’s probably all a part of being a witch-in-training,” Luz reasons. “But I’ll keep it in mind,” she said, shootin’ her a finger gun.

Connie moves her head back in mild disbelief. “Getting traumatized is a part of being a witch?” she asks with concern. 

“No, ‘course not!” Luz defends. “It’s stuff like, vanquishing monsters! Defeating enemies! Going through scary stuff!” she boldly proclaims, voice oozin’ with bravado. “They’re all things that the protagonists in my YA novels do to help progress their character arcs.”

“Oh, they progressin’ _somethin’_ alright,” I find myself commentin’. 

Heads turn my way, puttin’ me in the spotlight of people that’re like celebrities to me. _Oh no._

“Whaddya mean?” Luz asks for clarification. Calmly. Unlike me.

“Shit - _fuck_ , I mean,” I swallow (as Mabel and Greg cover their ears), helpin’ me gather my bearings. “L-Like, it’s what Connie said now, ‘bout like, how that sorta stuff prolly gonna mess you up, o-or sumn’.” 

“What? _Psh_ \- naaah!” Luz objects, shakin’ her head. “That’s not gonna happen! I’m having a _great_ time in the Boiling Isles. I wouldn’t stay if I didn’t want to.”

Yeah, and Steven wanted to hunt monsters with the gems and he got his bones broke and some trauma. 

Actually though, am I in a right mind to lecture Luz here? Am I an ass if I do so? Will it mess up canon too much or something? Still dunno how that really works.

“I - just, be careful, I guess,” I relent.

Before any of us could continue Steven ‘n Wirt walk outta the bathroom, Steven pattin’ his shoulder with a sympathetic look on his face. Around Wirt’s eyes are a ring of red.

“Wirt!” Greg perks up, bouncin’ up ‘n toddlin’ over to him. Latchin’ onto his leg he meets his older brother in the eyes, only for his own face to falter. “What’s the matter, Wirt?”

Wirt doesn’t reply, only snifflin’ ‘n layin’ a hand on Greg’s head. Rufflin’ his hair a bit he says, “Nothing much. Just had to, get a couple things off my chest, that’s all.” He kneals down to Greg’s height. “I’m better now.”

“Well, that’s good!” Greg chimes. “‘Cause these guys are starting to bore me _out!_ They talked about _there-huppy_ for like, an hour!”

“I … don’t think that lasted even five minutes,” Amity voices to her knowledge. Which is correct, obviously. 

Wirt sighs warmly at his little bro. “It’s ‘therapy,’ Greg,” he chuckles breathily.

I see Connie look up ‘n give Steven a look that read “what in the fresh Hell happened in that bathroom?” Steven replies with an easy smile and a shrug of his shoulders, the action readin’ as “he just needed to vent a bit.”

Welp, looks like Steven’s back on the therapy grind. - I’m jokin’ obviously, it’s real nice to see Steven helpin’ folks out all while prolly not sacrificin’ his mental health. Even if those folks happen to be from another dimension. 

Heh, maybe he could get everybody _else_ here a real good cryin’ sesh. They prolly gon’ need it. I mean, they all been through some gnarly shit like Steven here - 

Just like, Steven.

Wait. Wait a goddamn minute. _Ooooh_ I’m so fuckin’ _stupid._

“Hey uh, Steven? Connie? Can I talk with y’all a quick sec? In private?” I say as I stand up, adrenaline burstin’ out my words.

As Wirt ‘n Greg join the others to sit, Connie ‘n Steven get up ‘n approach me, a ways away from the others. “What’s up?” the latter asks.

“I, uh … I think I got me a notion on how they’re all connected to you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this fic ain’t been updated in forever! I’ve really been workin’ on my main fic, “Human Spinel AU (Except Not Much Changes).” Be sure to check that out too!


	4. Bathroom Seminar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My grandpa always said, “Smart, new ideas always come from time well-spent in the bathroom.” I think he was jokin’, but this time it’s actually true.

Steven, Connie, ‘n I make a hasty excuse to ditch the others and go converse (heh, pun) in the bathroom. Walkin’ inside it looks exactly as I’d suspect: real drab wallpaper, neutral lighting, them stupid-ass white towels that’re always too small to dry you off good, the like. I also happen to notice a buncha wadded-up tissues in the waste bin underneath the sink. 

“So, what’d you find out?” Connie asks, closin’ the door behind her.

I breath in a quick sec. “H-okay, yeah, uh,” I chuckle at how bizarre what I’m bouta say it, “this is gonna sound real weird.”

“Weirder than the stuff I usually heard you say?” Steven chimes in with a small smirk.

“Hah, yeah prolly,” I reply, rockin’ my stance back ‘n forth. “So like, in my dimension, y’all’re seen as in a kids’ adventure-comedy cartoon.”

Steven’s brow crinkles. “Wait - _kids_ are watching this?”

I give a ‘so-so’ nod. “More like tweens. And some teenagers, twenty-somethin’s, gay people - y’know.”

The dude’s got that blank processin’ look on his face. “… Huh. I at _least_ thought we’d be like, I dunno, rated ‘T’ or something.”

“I think that’s a video game rating, Steven,” Connie reminds, slightly amused at what he said. “And, yeah, considering what we’ve been through a teenage rating _would_ make sense.”

“I - I dunno man, I’m just tellin’ y’all the facts,” I defend. 

“You’re right, my bad,” Connie apologizes. “So - what’d you wanna tell us?”

I twist my mouth around, a bit nervous. I mean, this is kinda gnarly shit I’m about to spill. Like, I _think_ so, for them at least. I dunno. “So, um, everybody else out there? They’re from, uh, the same type ‘a thing.”

Ope, yep, that’s just ‘bout what I expected. Connie barks out a cough in shock as Steven’s eyes bulge out. “You mean a - _a cartoon?!_ ” 

“Yeah, I mean, back home, they’re all seen as, uh - yeah they’re cartoons there too,” I stumble on my wordin’.

Steven blinks, then moves to rub his forehead. “… Wow. That’s, that’s some cosmic-level coincidence right there.”

“So, you know who they are,” Connie asks for affirmation after regainin’ her compusre. When I nod, she continues, “Do you know _why_ they’re like Steven then?”

“Oh! Right.” Kinda got side-tracked for a minute there. “So, like, they’re like him ‘cause they all been through the stuff you been; funny, kinda gnarly action/fantasy-type junk that can be marketed to tweens.”

A slow, creepin’ horror dawns on Steven’s face. “Oh, _gosh,_ those poor kids.”

“I talked a bit about that with them while you and Wirt were in the bathroom,” Connie reveals, rubbin’ Steven on the arm prolly to ease his spirits. “Recommended getting professional help if they need it.”

“Do you know if they need it?” Steven looks at me with sad, serious eyes. Eyes that weren’t directin’ emotion at me, but instead the others’ situations.

My demeanor gets real somber. “No no, don’t worry, I don’t - I don’t _think_ they, uh, they got it.”

“Got, what?” Connie asks, in a tone I ain’t able to tell if it’s knowin’ or not.

Oof, I done backed myself into a corner here. “Y’know - like, PTSD.”

Steven’s mouth draws into a tight line. “Oh, right.”

We remain silent for a short moment before I get an urge to speak. “Oh yeah, uh, real talk real quick: sorry that, uh, you got PTSD ‘n junk. And how the Gems were a big part in that. That, that’s real rough. You’re the _last_ person who deserves that.”

“Nobody deserves PTSD - well technically C-PTSD, among, _other_ stuff,” Steven corrects. “But thanks. And uh, yeah, it’s rough, but I’m getting better.”

“That’s good, that’s good,” I reply, tryin’ to end the convo on a somewhat positive note.

Which unfortunately doesn’t last. “How do you know they aren’t experiencing the same effects Steven has?” Connie interrogates, relinquishin’ her grasp on Steven’s arm. 

“I -“ I shoot some air though my nose in defeat. “… I dunno. They ain’t showin’ any of the symptoms ‘a trauma, but I dunno if it’ll show up later’n life,” I tell.

“But that’s the weird thing.” I say just before Connie can reply. “Like, Wirt, Greg, Mabel, ‘n Dipper are from cartoons that‘ve _ended_ in my timeline. And, like, judgin’ by how Dipper still got his pine tree hat and Wirt ‘n Greg ain’t back from the Unknown yet, they seem to be from before they’ve ended. You must’a pulled ‘em in from the _past_ or sumn’!”

“Wh - how are you sure?” Steven asks.

Gosh. All this time-talk is kinda boggin’ me down. “‘Cause at the end of both shows Dipper got another hat and Wirt ‘n Greg went home.”

A new look of shock appears on the others’ faces. “… Oh, wow. Your powers can do, a _lot._ ” Connie comments, huffing in awe.

“Does - does this affect anything in their timelines?” Steven asks, kinda anxious.

Yep, this is _still_ cloudin’ up my thoughts. “Mmh… no,” I say after a moment of ponderin’ and coolin’ my brain. I ain’t even lyin’. “Don’t think so. You coulda got ‘em from a parallel timeline where, like - so where their timelines ain’t the one I’m watchin’ on T.V, I reckon.”

He turns his head towards the door. Frownin’, his head swivels back. “How can we be sure?”

 _Oh my fuckin’ **shit**_ dude my brain’s literally _soup_ from talkin’ ‘bout all this damned dirty dimension shit — wait, hold on, slow down there Martin. Cool your jets. Steven ‘n Connie here are genuinely confused, you oughta do to the best of your abilities to help ‘em out.

Suddenly, I get me an idea. “What happened after I left? Just so I can clarify sumn’.” This’ll work, prolly. Like, if the stuff they say aligns with what I’ve seen on T.V, then it’ll prove that they ain’t got nothin’ to worry about in regards to havin’ all the others here, ‘cause it won’t screw up their timelines.

“Well,” Steven began, a bit ‘uh awkwardness in his voice, “I, uh - my mental health got worse, I proposed to Connie, er-“

“Y’know what? That’s my bad. Uh, what - what happened the day you left Beach City?”

Steven grows easy at that, almost in a fondly reminiscent-type way. “Well, the Gems, Bismuth, Lapis, and Peridot, Connie, my Dad and I put together a little going-away ceremony for me on the beach.”

… they what?

“We gave each other gifts, and - my Dad gave me a Webflix account, ‘for the road’ he said, and also ….”

I can’t pick up on whatever else he’s sayin’. My mind just gets too fogged. Holy shit. _Holy shit._ I fuckin’ - I altered Steven’s reality. Well, _this_ Steven’s reality, I guess. Not the one back home. But still! That - that’s fuckin’ _nuts!_

Well, shit, what does this mean then? Whatever happens here doesn’t affect what my dimension’s seein’. Do - do _other_ realities watch this version? Did they see me pop in a couple months back on the T.V and were like, “Hey, who the fuck this dude?” Or is there some sorta, like, cosmic law that don’t allow that to happen?

Y’know what? I ain’t even gonna bother tryna figure out all that mumbo-jumbo. That’s just gonna make my brain short-circuit. All I know is that all these other cartoon characters bein’ here ain’t gonna go’n break the Space-Time Continuum or some other stupid science shit. So we’re solid.

“Martin?”

“Oh! Right. What - what’s up?”

“Why’d you need to know that again?” Connie wonders.

“Yeah, uh, I was just tryna answer your question,” I explain. “So like, basically, y’all don’t gotta worry about affecting the timelines I see in my dimension.”

Steven shoots out a sigh of relief. “ _Phew_ , that’s a relief. How’d you find that out?”

“In my dimension, there wasn’t any goin’-away ceremony - just some goodbyes,” I elaborate. “And if there _was_ we prolly woulda seen it, ‘cause, y’know, that’d be the main point of the final episode or whatever.”

The guy nods in understanding. “Okay, that’s settled. But still, will them -“ he jabs a thumb towards the bathroom door “- being here affect _their_ timelines?”

“I imagine so,” Connie spoke up for me. “But it won’t affect Martin’s world’s perception of their timelines. At least, I think that’s what I’m supposed to be comprehending here.”

“Uh - yeah, yeah, that’s it,” I reply.

Steven hums. “Does this mean there’s a dimension that‘ll be impacted by what goes on in _this_ timeline?”

“I was just thinkin’ that!” I comment. “… Y’know, I don’t really got a clue, to be real. Maybe God don’t allow that, or some shit.”

Connie nods. “That could be possible,” she declares. 

“We, uh, we shouldn’t bother tellin’ all them that they’re in cartoons now, right?” I suggest. Like, I don’t think I can handle that many existential crisises. Or crises. I dunno how the fuck to say that word.

“I… think that’d be for the best,” Steven coincides with my thinkin’. “All those people there are different from me in many ways; they might not take the news as well as I did.” He chuckles a bit morbidly. “And _that’s_ saying something.”

“Yeah. So… we don’t have anything to worry about?” Connie thinks. “Well, that’s good.”

“Definitely,” Steven ‘n I say at the same time. My eyes light up. “ _Ah!_ Jinx! Ya owe me a Coke!”

“… What’s a Coke?”


End file.
